new york
–
YouTube will begin using artificial intelligence on Wednesday to estimate users' age as part of an effort to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content online.
This is part of a broader push to make social media safer for young people, but some users are already worried about what it means for privacy and experience on the platform.
The technology is designed to determine whether you are an adult or a minor based on your activity on the platform, regardless of the date of birth that your audience submits when they sign up. The tool has been tested with a limited number of US users so far, but is expected to be deployed more widely in the coming months.
If the tool identifies a user as a minor, YouTube automatically applies existing teenage safety measures to your account. It includes limitations on certain types of sensitive content, such as violent or sexually suggestive videos. Adult users who are mistakenly identified as minors must upload a government ID, credit card or selfie to prove their age.
Some YouTube users are already worried about accidentally flagging them by technology. Privacy experts have raised concerns about adults passing sensitive personal information to confirm their age.
Here's what we know about the new system:
The system will depend on signals such as the type of video that users search for and search for clocks, and how long the account is active to determine if they are under the age of 18.
Users identified by AI as minors will automatically opt-in to the platform's teen safety measures, including restrictions on certain types of content, tailored recommendations, banning repeated viewing of certain types of content, “break” reminders, and disabled personalized ads.
YouTube's new AI Age verification system works only for logged-in users, so young people can avoid some of the safety precautions by visiting the site without an account. However, signed-out users are not able to access age-restricted content.
YouTube and other social media platforms are cracking down on age verification measures after facing criticism that teens can avoid safeguards by signing up for fake birth dates. These concerns come amidst the broader scrutiny from parents and lawmakers who have long been concerned that such places will harm the safety and mental health of their children.
Last year's Meta also said it uses AI to identify teenage users on Instagram as lying about their age Ensuring extended youth safety protections can be applied. Tiktok also uses this technology to detect users who may be under the age of 13.
Several other online platforms, including Reddit and Discord, have also begun verifying the age of some users due to new rules under the UK's online safety laws. law Last month, child safety regulations came into effect.
YouTube said the AI age verification system has shown promise in other countries before the US rollout Wednesday.
Some YouTube users are crossed their arms when the adult version of YouTube is accidentally flagged as teenager, considering passing credit cards, IDs, or selfies (in other words, biometric data). Some share their frustration on X and Reddit on the hashtag #BoyCottyOutube.
Suzanne Bernstein, a lawyer for a nonprofit research group In an interview with Tech News site Ars Technica, the e-Privacy Information Center raised concerns about how YouTube will manage its data. “I can fully understand the discomfort with a particular appeal process where we need to provide highly sensitive personal information,” she said.
A YouTube spokesperson told CNN that parent company Google “uses the world's most advanced security to protect user data from threats, and users can choose privacy settings such as deleting data.”
The spokesman added that YouTube does not retain data from the user's ID or credit card that it uses for advertising purposes.
